Putatan: The Government needs to reconsider the proposed coal-fired power plant project in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu in line with Malaysia's commitment and pledge to reduce global carbon emission.

Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED) Secretary-General, Datuk Dr Makin Marcus Mojigoh, said Malaysia's commitment was expressed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his speech at the Fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen, in Denmark, recently.

"We cannot be seen to be flip-flop. I strongly believe if we are (really) going towards reduction of carbon emission, then other alternatives should be sought instead of the coal-fired power plant," Mojigoh, who is also Putatan Member of Parliament, told reporters here, Wednesday.

"I am sorry this may seem like going against the Prime Minister's announcement (on the decision to approve the construction of the coal-fired power plant in Tawau)," he added.

Mojigoh was among the three high-powered representatives from APPCED attending the Inter-Parliamentarian Union conference on climate change, attended by representatives from more than 160 countries, which was held in parallel with COP 15.

Mojigoh's appointment as Secretary-General of APPCED was endorsed during its 14th General Assembly in Koror, Republic of Palau, in November this year. He said the Prime Minister's speech was well received by delegates, especially from the developing countries.

Najib, in his speech, had announced that Malaysia was adopting an indicator of a voluntary reduction of up to 40 per cent in terms of emission intensity of GDP by the year 2020 compared to the 2005 levels.

"Despite the many problems and difficulties we see on the long road ahead to address climate change, Malaysia is willing to contribute to the global efforts.

"We have therefore decided on setting for ourselves voluntary national indicators to measure our progress in climate change," said the Prime Minister.

In this respect, Mojigoh believed "it is still not too late to make some changes" as far as the proposed coal-fired power plant at Felda Sahabat is concerned.

"Even if the proposed project is now undergoing the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), it is not a guarantee that the marine resources at the Dent Peninsula will not be affected (by the plant)," he said.

The issue had also been raised by several Sabah MPs, including him, at the Parliament but the response from the Minister concerned only dwelled on factors right in front of him, that is the people wants electricity.

But, there was nothing mentioned about looking for other alternatives other than using coal to generate the much-needed power supply for the people, he said.

Among alternatives other than using gas, biomass and solar energy, he said, was to "go back to basic" by installing "wheels" in the upper stream of rivers to generate electricity in a relatively cheaper way.

Mojigoh, who is also Chairman of Corporate Dynamics, said he had proposed to the firm's board of directors for its engineers and experts to look into the proposition and turn it into a reality.

He said his idea came after visiting China where he saw many such wheels built along its rivers to generate electricity for its people.

"One wheel may generate 1MW... but if we can build many of them along our rivers we should be able to get our power supply," he said, adding that it might just as well work in Padas River, especially taking advantage of the discharge water from the turbines at the hydro power plant.

"The water discharged from the plant's turbine still has a lot of energy so why can't several power generating wheels be built there," he said, adding that he wanted the engineers in Corporate Dynamics to take up the challenge in order to reduce the firm's huge electricity bill.

Corporate Dynamics is spending about RM100,000 a month just to pay electricity bill, he said, adding that should the "wheel" idea works, then the firm could reduce its expenditure and perhaps earn extra income by selling excess power supply.

Mojigoh said, in fact, APPCED in its 14th General Assembly passed several resolutions, among them to promote research and development of alternative energy technologies as a vital part of protecting the environment and providing for sustainable economic growth. In Copenhagen, together with APPCED President, Woo Yea Hwang, and his Mambung (Sarawak) counterpart, James Dawos Mamit, who is the 2nd Vice President representing 1st Vice President, Bryon Wilfert, from Canada, they submitted the resolutions of The Palau Declaration to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon.

It was received by June Budhooram, Secretary of COP, which is the secretariat for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.

In the Declaration, APPCED also expressed its commitment to promote cooperation between countries in the Asia-Pacific region to provide energy needs and for transfer of alternative energy technologies, to allow emerging technologies to be widely distributed.

APPCED also resolved to ensure the national capacity building of all members, which included the United States, China, India, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, among others, to develop modern infrastructure and take advantage of the unique capacities and challenges of each nation to generate, as well as utilise appropriate alternative energy technology.

Mojigoh said the APPCED also recognised the individual vulnerabilities each nation faces in confronting climate change, enhancing each nation's workforce by ensuring that educational and training programmes are in place to provide for the skilled labour that energy systems require.

The last resolution was to anticipate the need to identify and strengthen the appropriate institutional, financial and legal mechanism to ensure that alternative energy development serves as a catalyst for sustainable development.

APPCED, with the Korean Parliamentary League for Children, Population and Environment as its standing secretariat, according to Mojigoh, has given Malaysia the honour to host its Conference in Kuala Lumpur tentatively in July next year.

The theme for the conference would be COP 15 ROAD MAP, he said.

Effects of the climate change were already evident around the globe, he said, adding that closer to home these included frequent occurrence of floods and erosion of the coast lines. "Addressing climate change issues is not just the responsibility of the Government but everyone, the NGOs, the local community leaders and the people themselves," he said.